What Can Be Done To Prepare For A Successful Wonder Woman Movie

This article suggests somethings that can be done to reintroduce Wonder Woman into the public imagination. She is one of my favourite superheroines and I really look forward to the day WB has the balls to make a movie of this character. This is some of the ideas I have for how Warner Brothers could pave the way for her feature and test if there´s a market for the character.

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By jpfola26 - 9/22/2012

WHAT CAN BE DONE TO PREPARE FOR A SUCCESSFUL WONDER WOMAN MOVIE

I´ve quite vocally stated on this site how underrated Wonder woman usually is, even amongst comic book fans. This has lead DC/WARNER to put off making a Wonder Woman movie, which I think is very unfortunate, because she´s actually a very rich character. I mean these things really all depend on the writer, she´s been presented as everything from, feminist icon and powerful female figure, to domesticated house wife, to the female Superman; or the red and blue girl scout if you will, to the comic fish out water tale, to the depiction, I´m most interested in, the badass powerful feminist warrior whose ready to kill (differentiating her from Superman And Batman).

More recently the latter representation has taken over, but with elements missing, that were keenly observed in her early days and even the seventies show, like humor or her full range of powers.
Part of the problem with her character is this, there are so many depictions, different powers, different costumes, different attitudes, different origins, that people no longer know who she is. Remembering her as: "oh isn´t she the one who carries that lame laso, that makes people tell the truth."

However, because the public view of her is so muddled, she could gain a new exciting second life, with Superheroes stories being so big at the moment. Wonder Woman´s story, is ripe for someone to bring all the elements that people have loved about her and subsequently make her the most relevant Superhero of the modern age.

Why do I say this; she is brooding like Batman, sexy and funny like Catwoman, a warrior, she has a few really cool arch-villains (Ares, Circe, Genocide, etc) that would look great in film, her story can easily be set in the now fashionable gritty dark atmosphere of the successful Nolan trilogy, and men and women would love her for different reasons, if done right. Her potential is quite boundless. But I think If DC/Warner Brothers are even remotely serious about her having a successful film career here are some ways they can pave the way for her.

SCRAP THE TV SHOW AND DO AN ANIMATED TV SHOW

If you haven´t heard DC are planning yet another Wonder Woman TV show for next year. This one is to focus on her origin story, and they plan to make it like Smallville.

This is a bad mistake; Superheroes like Wonder Woman and Superman don´t tend to be done justice in live action small screen. The story, which is usually crude and not anywhere near the comics, is let down by cheap budget and effects, which means their powers are not displayed in all their glory.

Since whatever media next depicts Wonder Woman will be introducing her character and mythos, to the non-comic reading world, I think it has to be in a medium that can show off all parts of
her story, as well as have great action. TV is a terrible medium for this.

If a film is too expensive a test for this Warner Brother should look to making a classic animated series like Batman, Superman or The Justice League, all which have been hugely popular. This will build up interest in her mythos, and story, and get kids behind the character as well. And they can do this at cost.

GET A BRILLIANT OSCAR WORTHY ACTRESS TO PLAY HER IN THE JUSTICE LEAGUE FILM

I have lamented that we are not going to see some a kick ass solo DC films, before Justice League comes out. I think its such an awful mistake on DC/Warner Brothers if they go that root, which would seem to come from greed, not sense.
But if they do choose this road, having only Man Of Steel as an introduction to a Justice League movie (fingers crossed the script is decent) get a great actress to play her. Please don´t just choose some model with no personality, or, someone who just looks like her. Choose instead someone who can really act. Some one with presence and attitude. Someone who realizes the honor it is to play such a character and takes it very seriously. Someone hungry, who wants their depiction of Wonder Woman to stand out. This will make people want more.

Rebecca Hall a brilliant young British actress, is my choice. She really is a fine actress first, and, a beauty later.

ESTABLISH A CITY

I think further depictions of Wonder Woman in comics, should start establishing a city for her. Gateway City was previously her base of operations in some of the early comics. This would be a great help to solidifying her iconic status.

I think the reason Gateway was dropped was because it didn´t really relate to the character in the same way that Gotham does for Batman, or Metropolis does for the mild mannered boy scout trying to make it in the big city outside of Smallville Kansas.

But this is why I think they need to add a touch to Gateway City. For instance, since Diana comes from Paradise Island, maybe the town she comes to has to represent something that is opposite from paradise or femininity. It can´t be too obvious. However, just something that evokes ideas that oppose that. Like Smallville is to Metropolis. Its simple but affective. My idea was say she comes from Gateway City Oceania Bay. Oceania was a territory found in the dystopian world depicted in George Orwell´s classic novel 1984. Just like Metropolis was named after Fitz Lang´s early German expressionist film of the same name.

Ofcourse something better can be thought of. But I think you get the point.

BRING BACK DIANA PRINCE

Secret Identities and Superheroes are what make the heroes so iconic. Without one, a superhero feels like half a person. We know who the hero is, or, what they really stand for when we know the person inside. This is why when ever Clark Kent is separated from Superman, or Banner from The Hulk, they turn evil. It is by living as a human these heroes are able to understand, the suffering, pain, and anguish experienced by mere mortals. Its how they relate to us and us to them.

So what´s wrong with Diana Prince? Again like everything else in Wonder Woman´s comic book career, Diana Prince has gone through as many changes as a real woman. Different jobs, careers, styles, manners.

She´s been a secret service operative, military secretary, UN Peace keeper, a writer, and even owner of a fashion boutique.

For my money, the one that is truest to the character is working as a some kind of UN peace keeper, in Amnesty International or as a writer, or something to that affect. It also puts her directly in situations where Wonder Woman would be needed.

SEQUEL TO ANIMATED MOVIE

The animated movie was just brilliant, and actually, even with comics included, is one of the best Wonder Woman stories of all time. It got people excited about the character. Demonstrated how cool she is. Gave us a villain, who was equally as charismatic.

Only issue is, I thought she should fly, and the tiara boomerang wasn´t cool.

I say we want more. We want more. A sequel, to that film could be excellent and further cement her mythology in the public eye.

FEMINIST AND SOCIAL ISSUES

Get her backing social issues in the comics, especially feminist ones. Get her reacting to a postfeminist world.

And break her up from Superman. The Wonder Woman needs to be in her own world for a while.

BUILD STRONG SUPPORTING CAST

Commissioner Gordon, Lois Lane, Perry White, Alfred Pennyworth, Mary Jane Watson, these are all characters well established in the public imagination as integral parts of the mythology of the respective Superheroes of whom´s lives they play a part. As one of the members of the trinity, Wonder Woman deserves an equally rich cast of supporting players.

In a way she actually does, Queen Hippolyta, Steve Trevor, Airtimes, Etta Candy amongst others. However, most of her supporting cast exist in Paradise Island. She needs a supporting cast in what ever city she moves to. This would enhance the character greatly.

DO A COMIC OF WONDER WOMAN EARTH ONE AND YEAR ONE

The last thing I thin is Wonder Woman´s origin needs a revamp and modernizing. Taking the best parts of her history and putting them in a recognizable world. There have of course been great Wonder Woman stories recently, but none of them are real origins. Because her books sales have been very up and down through out the years, major players haven´t been attracted to working on her origin story and re-imagining some of her most iconic villains. Big players like Allen Moore, Frank Miller, Mark Waid, and others haven´t done anything with the third member of the Trinity.

But Wonder Woman is a very classic story that can be told and reinvented in many contexts. I think they should pay a big name like Mark Waid to do a Birth right like story for Wonder Woman. It would get comic fans excited again about her story.

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I think WB is banking on introducing her in a JLA movie in hopes that fans and moviegoers alike will demand to see her in a solo outing.

Wonder Woman has been in developmental hell for years. Wonder Woman had a TV show that lasted three seasons (1975-1979) since then any attempt to bring her to the small or big screen has ended in failure.

Wonder Woman is the most popular feminine superhero. However, every female superhero to grace the big screen has been box office poison.

In other words, feminine heroines don't really have a market. Plus, Wonder Woman has 1 comic (unlike Batman and Superman that are swinging multiple issues every month and dominating the top 20) and her comic sales are poor (#35 in August 2012) if you consider that she is the ultimate female superhero. She is getting beat by NightWing (#32), a supporting cast member of the Batman books.

At best, Wonder Woman on a budget of $150 million can gross about $263,427,551. I took those figures from MARVELS big green Goliath (who has a similar popularity to the Amazonian); he had two different outings and they both banked about the same. And, guess what?!? MARVEL Studios put HULK on the back-burner because the big guy's movies just aren't profitable enough.

I think that a super-strong JLA movie can rock the foundation of superhero movies and start a DC shared film universe by helping to launch multiple characters from that movie onto solo projects; however, a poorly done JLA movie can put everyone (but Batman and Superman) back in developmental hell. The goal of the movie should be to introduce the world to these heroes and leave them wanting more (a gigantic feat), and WB/DC has the habit of turning all their superhero movies into glorified toy commercials that will destroy our chances of ever seeing a Wonder Woman Film become a reality.

@Wormwood WW would do GREAT in film. I know people who to this day still drool love the 70's WW. Everyone knows her name and to get another interpretation of it will lead to older audiences coming to see if it was as good as their Lynda Carter. It will have teenage boys (well actually every boys) 2 favorite things 1. Action2. Hot Womenunless they're homo~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~I LOVE these ideas.

1). If you appeal to the boys/men with women parading around in iron swim wear, you'll alienate female viewers.

2). If you make Wonder Woman a femi-nazi starring some bulked up man-faced gyrator like Gina Carano, you'll lose the male viewers.

Wonder Woman is a Catch-22. You'll need to find a director/writer that can please both sides. If you lose either side, the movie will tank at the box office. The marketing for the movie would be difficult. I thinks it's why WB studios doesn't know how to proceed with the transition from comic to film.

The movie would need excellent word of mouth to pass the $250 Million point. Look at Green Lantern's numbers:

The last two being foreign films, with very little knowledge of the actresses involved (for American audiences, that is).

Hollywood isn't invested in movies about women. Like Supergirl, She-Hulk, Spider-Woman, Batgirl, etc... the action genre's definition of strong female leads include women who assume the male role as a substitute.

Example: Angelina Jolie's Salt, was originally intended to be Tom Cruise's Salt.

===There's also WB/DC's reluctance to do anything out of the ordinary, outside the confines of Batman and Superman. With that conservative approach, why would they go on to attempt a true Wonder Woman movie, when Michael Bay has proven that vacuous women sell all the more?

For a Wonder Woman film to be successful it'll have to make bank. Plus, it'll need a budget of at least $150 Million.

The general rule is that for a movie to deserve a sequel, it should at least double it's budget; most American studios want at least the budget of the movie to be grossed at home.

Therefore, Wonder Woman will have to gross at least $300 Million to warrant a sequel.

I agree on your assessment that heroine movies usually are poorly made and received. Plus, most Heroine movies are always made on a shoestring budget. However, I can't see Wonder Woman being the next Thor (Budget $150/ Gross $449,300,000) or Iron Man (Budget $140 Million/Gross $585,174,222). I'll be surprised if she can make it into Captain America territory (Budget $140 Million/Gross $368 Million).

Even a well scripted Wonder Woman movie without someone like Angelina Jolie helming the movie, won't break 300 Million. _____________________________________________

WB is in the business of making money, not creating movies that fans want to see if it comes at a huge loss of money.

Superman and Batman are both bankable heroes. In fact, they make up at least half of all DC comic titles. Their families alone (Batgirl, supergirl, nightwing, robin, red robin, superboy, etc) make up some of the most popular characters owned by DC Comics. Wonder Woman has one title and it's not even a best seller.

I think the JLA movie will be bankable (riding on Batman and Superman). If there is love for Flash, Wonder Woman, or Aquaman after there big screen debut, I'm sure WB will act accordingly.

Wonder Woman's title isn't even a best seller among comic readers. It's a great comic-book, you should pick it up. But, I'm missing the logic or correlation between something massively popular like The Hunger Games ( in the vein of Harry Potter) and Wonder Woman.

Most school age girls don't care about Wonder Woman. In order to appeal to that demographic, DC/ WB will have to spend years marketing to them. A cartoon series for young kids and a live action TV show would be a start.

@WormwoodI wasn't actually saying movies focused on a heroine are poorly made, on the contrary, I was using Kill Bill, Pan's Labyrinth, and the original Girl With the Dragon Tattoo as examples to point out that outside of CBMs - they can be very awesome and very successful. AND those were R-rated movies, which always make less because of the focused audience.

Yes, the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is a bestseller (although I've found the books REALLY boring), likewise with the Mockingjay trilogy (not boring, just bestselling), but this is WONDER WOMAN. Katniss Everdeen wasn't even around when Diana snapped Maxwell Lord's neck.

Truth be told, I'm not a big fan. I haven't been reading comics since 2008, and back then, I was following Secret Invasion. With DC, I tend to pick up the classics, and I have a large collection of Batman trades, with a few event books. Wonder Woman doesn't make a whole lot of appearances in them.

Still, it's the basic principle that matters. If a cartoon series could reinvigorate interest, then we need a show. It's definitely a step in the right direction considering what happened with Green Lantern. Marketing and general awareness was at an all-time low - I hope they learn from their mistake.

She's so tough to bring to the big screen. As are most super-women. You're right about them not just finding another pretty face for the role, that is usually the first mistake. I am always in favor of no-name actors/actresses who still have cred from smaller films as apposed to blockbuster names. Big names can be distracting sometimes, and they aren't the only ones who can act. The animated movie did have some sweet aspects, and most good superhero movies take some notes from their cartoon predecessors.